Lilly didn’t continue on with most of the drugs – those were just experiments, it was the 80’s after all.  On occasion, she took a Xanax here – a Valium there – and even an occasional diet pill, which because she didn’t like feeling “racy,” she took a tranquilizer with it.

Lilly didn’t really ever drink because she didn’t like the way it made her feel. Maybe half a glass of wine when out with her gal pals and even then, a quarter was left in the glass.

She didn’t take to pain pills either.  Even after a trip to the dentist, they made her sick to her stomach and so she declined the offer from the dentist.

Fast forward to 2010 and 40 something.  Lilly tells me she feels as though she missed her 30’s. Where did they go?

I get a little tired of the “I” this and the “me” that in my blogs.  So in keeping with my Light, Laughter and Life theme, I’m going to tell you about a beloved and cherished friend who taught me what it was to live in the light and laugh till you cry! And, I am better because of her. We’ll call her Lilly. In many ways, this is an open letter to my Lil.

This post is dedicated to those of us that believe a planet with 10 months of summer, 1 month of  fall, 1 day of winter (choose your holiday) and 29 days of Spring would be nirvana.

Autumn arrived as if Mom Nature went “Oh my. Labor Day!” and with that, she flipped the switch.

Not that I’m complaining, mind you. It’s just that I have a closet full of sandals I have not yet worn, 3 partly full bottles of sunscreen, only muted tan lines and a major whiney attitude about it all.

Somebody tell my brain! Most of what happens in any given day is not within my control. Actually, the more I think of it, almost ALL of what happens to me, isn’t anything I can control. So why do I try so hard to do it?

These are the givens…I didn’t choose my parents (although I am glad I got who I got!), I didn’t choose my hair color (the one that doesn’t come with a toll free number if you apply it incorrectly), I didn’t choose the date or the time in history in which I was born and I didn’t choose to be my height or the color of my eyes.

These are all compliments of the universe.

If I want to stay sane and gain peace, I have to recognize where I do not have a measure of control over the outcome!

When I was a little girl, my family moved for my Dad’s job from Michigan to Kentucky. As a result, we’ve never been one of those families that stuck close by and continue to live near one another.  As adults, my sister, brother and I all moved to separate states for various reasons.

I wouldn’t trade all of the places I’ve been lucky enough to live for the world.

Until now.